The Hindu Business Line : Federal Bank close to buying 4 branches of another bank

Mr Padmakumar had earlier mentioned the proposal to buy the branches; now he said that the process of due diligence was over. Negotiations on pricing are on and an announcement about the acquisition is likely to be made shortly.

Last year, the bank took over the Muddumada branch of the Dhanalakshmi Bank and it turned out to be a happy experience. The branch had a total business of Rs 4 crore. The branch also brought Federal Bank about 600 depositors and 200 borrowers.

Mr Padmakumar was here to speak at the annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

He said that the bank's credit in the first quarter had risen 15 per cent. He could not give more details of Q1 performance, pending finalisation of accounts.

In his speech at the conference, he said that in the last four-odd years, banks had been making plum profits from treasury operations. "The party is over," he said, adding that banks would now have to look for other avenues for making profits.

On agricultural loans, he said that in a technical sense NPAs on agri exposure were high. However, the problem of non-payment is season-related, but the "propensity to pay is better and you will get your money back, at least the principal."

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Private Banks

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Forex reserves surge $700 m on FII inflows

Bank of Bahrain goes live with RTGS

Karnataka Bank goes live with RTGS

Union Bank posts 32.42 pc growth in net

Federal Bank close to buying 4 branches of another bank